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Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has surprised no one with his willingness to overturn his roster, at whatever price, in pursuit of the elusive Lombardi Trophy. The most important move made by the Redskins was, of course, the surprising luring of one of the all-time great coaches, Joe Gibbs.

Since then, the Redskins have made some moves that suggest things will definitely look much different next season. First, the 'Skins acquired Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell, suggesting to most that third-year QB Patrick Ramsey will be returned to the bench. Prediction: Ramsey's vocal desires for a trade will likely be met come draft day.

With greater fanfare, if not more importantly, the 'Skins traded unhappy corner Champ Bailey to Denver for similarly unhappy Broncos running back Clinton Portis. Certainly, the move came into question from both ends.

While national media questioned whether the 'Skins had been taken by the Broncos, Broncos fans aren't certain that they should have given up on someone they felt could be a great running back for the Mile High City. The Broncos made Bailey the highest-priced corner in the game, and the 'Skins made Portis inordinately wealthy, as well. High fives all around the agents' table.

The Philadelphia Eagles, noted for keeping the payroll well under control, opened the free agency period by stealing Titans defensive end Jevon Kearse almost instantly. The money given to Kearse made him the highest-paid defensive lineman in the game.

And just this week, the Eagles traded their fifth-round pick to Baltimore and DE Brandon Whiting to the San Francisco 49'ers in exchange for the highly-paid wide receiver Terrell Owens.

Sloppy Agents

What's noteworthy about the Owens situation isn't that the 'Niners seemed to have sealed two deals and took the one they liked better, regardless of what Owens wanted (perhaps even taking a deal that irked Owens more), but rather, obvious sloppiness on the part of his agent.

Owens' agent failed to file papers with the team that would have cancelled the remainder of Owens' contract with the 'Niners. Instead, with the 'Niners in ownership of Owens' rights, he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens, despite apparent belief by all parties that the Eagles had obtained his rights. Still, the Eagles didn't wait for the arbiter to rule against them, and brokered a deal that made T.O. theirs.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Dennis Northcutt's agent committed the exact same sin, and failed to file papers that would have made his client an unrestricted free agent, and likely much-sought. While Northcutt seems happy to remain in Cleveland, one wonders where he would be -- to say nothing of how well paid he would be, had his agent not slipped up in what should be fairly routine paper filing.

Just this week, it became known that Carl Poston's client, LaVar Arrington, 'Skins linebacker and ESPN Dream Job judge, has filed a grievance against the Redskins regarding his recently renegotiated contract. Apparently, Poston allowed nearly $7 million dollars in guaranteed bonus money to disappear. It's difficult to know at this point what arbitration will rule in the matter, but if the media reports are to be believed, Arrington might consider lightening Poston's apparently overwhelming client load.

To make matters worse for Poston, New England Patriots corner Ty Law has recently declared that he wants to be moved. In renegotiation discussions, Law noted in the media that he was "insulted" by the Patriots' first offer. In response, the Pats have cut off negotiations, claiming that they "don't want to insult" Law any further.

Poston might have not been able to keep Law quiet, but one wonders if perhaps he could have left his loquacious client out of the know until a deal worth signing had been presenting.

Trades, Trades, Trades

There have been a number of trades this offseason, starting with the trade of Jaguars' QB Brunell to Washington, as noted above. The 'Skins were also involved in the biggest trade of the offseason, also discussed above.

Just Friday, though, the Texans were able to find a trade partner for unneeded quarterback Drew Henson. Henson had been in minor league baseball for the last three years and had been drafted by Houston last year, in hopes of trading him for something of value. While the Texans may not have gotten the deal they'd hoped, they were able to get a third-round pick in next year's draft.

Monday, the Miami Dolphins traded a sixth-round pick and cornerback Jamar Fletcher to San Diego in exchange for malcontent wide receiver David Boston.

The trades are fun to see. While a few trades will occur periodically, big trades of the likes seen this season aren't likely to be standard NFL offseason fare -- though you should get accustomed to seeing them happen with a little bit more regularity.

As the haves and have-nots in cap management become more distinct, expect the well-managed cap teams to happily take over salaries, and hence, talented players, signed by poorly-managed cap teams.

Of course, such a prediction does have a caveat: if T.O., Bailey, Portis, and Boston all fail in their new uniforms...

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